Groceries made easy

Picture the scene: You’re in a foreign country with no idea about the language, and you need to buy some bread and milk. Where do you start? Will you ever be able to find a supermarket, let alone navigate it well enough to buy everything on your list? Well, worry no more, because I’ve got a handy guide to grocery shopping in Prague!

British expats rejoice, for Prague has several familiar stores in which to do your shopping- including large Tescos and Interspar (the Czech version of Spar). Prague is also the location of the largest Iceland frozen food shop in the Czech Republic. As of yet, I’m still to find my favourite British foods without stepping foot in the specialist British stores- I was rather hoping the large Tesco near Můstek would hold the key to finding real bacon. No such luck, I’m afraid. But they did have a pretty huge selection of most other things, despite the fact that their freezer section was somewhat lacking. Of course, this is because Czech people prefer to eat homemade food, or so I’ve heard, which also explains the lack of ready meals and the abundance of meat and spices available.

The next, and most readily available option for grocery shopping is Albert. This chain of super and hypermarkets is exclusive to the Czech Republic, and an abundance of them can be found all around Prague, including in Metro stations and generally dotted around. I could tell you the location of at least 4 different Albert supermarkets near to where I live, and they’re all of varying sizes, but very simple to locate via tram or metro.

One final thing that should be noted is that Supermarkets here are generally for food. Although some other items can be found, such as toiletries and kitchenware, they tend not to stock medication like painkillers, unlike most supermarkets in the UK.

I hope this miniature guide has given you a bit of an insight into the different options available. For more information on your nearest supermarkets, I’d suggest visiting their respective websites (although they might all be in Czech). Finally, if you really are completely stuck in the supermarket, here’s a handy list of Czech foods that you may encounter - and it might even stop you from buying yogurt instead of milk!